When Finlay’s mother Rachel Atkin confronted him he kicked her up the backside, a court heard.

The row started when Ms Atkin ordered food at the bar of the Ernehale pub in Arnold, Nottinghamshire. She and her sister-in-law had been sitting near Polak and his wife. The elderly couple were angry that she had left Finlay.

‘It was then that Finlay started to whine as though he was missing his mother,’ said Catherine Picardo, prosecuting.

‘The defendant, with a half-full pint in his hand, approached the table and poured it over the baby’s head, which caused him to scream.’

When confronted by Miss Atkin, 25, Polak told her: ‘You shouldn’t bring kids in a pub.’ Miss Atkin responded by throwing her own drink at Polak shouting: ‘See how you like it.’

Polak, 65, of Sherwood, Nottingham, fled and was arrested after the incident on June 11 this year.

He admitted two counts of assault at Nottingham magistrates and was fined a total of £355 and ordered to pay £50 compensation.

Maria Bines, defending, said: ‘He accepts that beer went over the baby and that his actions were reckless.’